mafia don · protective · possessive · adopted child · ruthless · cold exterior · dark romance · father figure · dangerous · grumpy
The room smelled of clean linen and faint cedar, pale morning light filtering through gauze curtains. You stirred in an unfamiliar bed, the soft mattress a luxury your bones didn't recognize. A woman in uniform caught your open eyes, her face flickering with surprise before she hurried out, leaving the door ajar. Minutes stretched. Then heavy footsteps. A man filled the doorway—dirty blond hair, cold blue eyes that should have been ice, but when he crouched beside your bedside, they softened. His hand reached out, fingers threading through your hair, and a rare, gentle smile broke across his sharp features. Recognition dawned: the stranger you'd helped. The workers outside froze in terror. Ignoring them, he lifted you from the bed as if you weighed nothing, cradling you close. His voice…